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CENTA raises Rs 20 Cr in Series A1 round led by Colossa Ventures

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
CENTA raises Rs 20 Cr in Series A1 round led by Colossa Ventures
Medial

CENTA raises Rs 20 Cr in Series A1 round led by Colossa Ventures Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) has raised Rs 20 crore ($2.33 million) in its Series A1 round led by Colossa Ventures, with participation from existing investor Discovery Assets and angel investors. The proceeds will be used to grow in India and other markets and to improve its technology systems. Started by Ramya Venkataraman and Priyanka Arya, CENTA provides teacher certification, upskilling, and teacher-as-a-service (TAAS), connecting teachers with full-time and part-time jobs. The platform claims to have 1.7 million teachers from over 100 countries and 100,000 schools. While India is its largest market, CENTA also has users in the UAE, Nigeria, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Ghana. It is forming ties in the UK and US. CENTA runs the International Teaching Professional’s Olympiad and has received awards from Dun & Bradstreet, NITI Aayog, UNESCO, and others.

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Colossa WomenFirst Fund raises Rs 100 Cr in first close

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Colossa WomenFirst Fund raises Rs 100 Cr in first close
Medial

Colossa Ventures, a SEBI-registered independent venture capital management company, has announced the first close of its maiden fund – Colossa WomenFirst Fund at Rs 100 crore. The fund with a target corpus of Rs 500 crore will primarily focus on investing in the pre-Series A stage and beyond. Based on research Colossa aims to create a niche in healthcare & healthtech, fintech, climate & cleantech, deeptech and the consumer sectors. The fund’s strategy is to leverage gender-diversity to generate alpha, and has attracted institutions such as SIDBI and family offices like Dr. Ranjan Pai’s Family Office, and the Shriram Ownership Trust, among others to invest in the first close. Co-founded in 2022 by Ashu Suyansh and Vandana Rajadhyaksha, Colossa WomenFirst Fund is a sector-agnostic venture growth fund, that seeks to revolutionize the startup landscape by focusing exclusively on women-founded or co-founded, or where women are the main beneficiaries. A bunch of women-focused funds are currently active in India. For context, Kalaari Capital runs CXXO initiative for female founders. Gender-focused investment platform Achieving Women Equity (AWE) Funds also launched its maiden India fund amounting to Rs 350 crore. Search giant Google runs a program called Google for Startups Women Founders Fund and provides $100,000 in equity-free cash to female-founded startups. Saha Fund, She Capital, and StrongHer Ventures also focus on women founder-led startups.

Exclusive: FableStreet parent FS Life to raise $4 Mn in Series B

EntrackrEntrackr · 18d ago
Exclusive: FableStreet parent FS Life to raise $4 Mn in Series B
Medial

Exclusive: FableStreet parent FS Life to raise $4 Mn in Series B FS Life, the parent company of D2C women's fashion brand FableStreet, is raising Rs 35.54 crore (around $4 million) led by Colossa Ventures with the participation of existing investor Fireside Ventures and others. FS Life, the parent company of D2C women's fashion brand FableStreet, is raising Rs 35.54 crore (around $4 million) led by Colossa Ventures with the participation of existing investor Fireside Ventures, HirePro Consulting, ASA Holdings, NKA Resources and other angel investors. This is the first fundraise for the company in 3 years since it raised Rs 50 crore in its pre-Series B round led by Fireside Ventures. The board at FS life passed a resolution to issue 10,282 Series B compulsory convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 34,568 each to raise the aforementioned sum, as per its regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Colossa Ventures, through its Colossa WomenFirst Fund, will lead the round with an investment of Rs 10 crore, followed by Fireside Ventures with Rs 7 crore. ASA Holdings and HirePro Consulting will contribute Rs 3 crore and Rs 2.5 crore, respectively. A group of angel investors, including Rahul Garg, Rahul Kayan, and others, will also participate in the round. The company has already received Rs 9.44 crore from the above round in July from Fireside Ventures, Mirabilis Investment Trust, and others, with the remaining amount expected to be received soon. According to Entrackr's estimates, FS Life’s valuation remained flat at Rs 370 crore or $42 million post-money. Founded in 2015 by Ayushi Gudwani, FS Life is a house of women’s apparel and lifestyle brands, including FableStreet, March Jewellery, and Pinkfort. FableStreet focuses on western wear with an emphasis on perfect fits, March offers sterling silver and semi-precious jewellery, while Pinkfort caters to modern Indian wear with a contemporary take on traditional styles. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the Gurugram-based company has raised over $9.5 million to date, with Fireside Ventures as its lead investor. The company is yet to disclose its FY25 financials. In FY24, it recorded over 40% year-on-year growth in operating revenue, while its losses widened by 70% to Rs 17 crore during the same period. FS Life competes with other D2C fashion and jewellery brands such as NEWME, which raised $18 million in July last year, as well as FabAlley, Fashor (ethnic wear), and jewellery startups like GIVA and Palmonas, among others.

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